Marine Veteran Who Broke Arm Protesting Iran War Criminally Charged
The firefighter and Marine veteran who was dragged out of a Wednesday Senate war powers resolution vote for yelling, “No one wants to fight for Israel” is now facing criminal charges.
Brian McGinnis, in full uniform, can be seen on video being grabbed by Republican Senator Tim Sheehy and three police officers. They lift him up in the doorway while he screams his protest, with his hand still in the doorway. Then a snap can be heard, as McGinnis’s arm breaks.
Senator Sheehy joined Capitol Police in lifting up and ejecting anti war protestor Brian McGinnis from a SASC subcommittee hearing. McGinnis is a Green Party candidate running for Senate in N.C. An antiwar activist filmed the video below: pic.twitter.com/0dVA0ORWXQ
— Alan He (@alanhe) March 4, 2026
They eventually put McGinnis down.
“The senator broke his hand! A sitting U.S. senator just broke the hand of a Marine! Control your Senate!” a bystander can be heard yelling.
McGinnis later confirmed his arm was broken. Now, even with his injuries, he has been criminally charged with assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. The GoFundMe in his name has already raised $48,000. McGinnis is also apparently a Green Party candidate for Senate in North Carolina.
“Capitol Police were attempting to remove an unhinged protestor from the Armed Services hearing. He was fighting back. I decided to help out and deescalate the situation,” Sheehy later wrote on X. “This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one. I hope he gets the help he needs without causing further violence.” In no way did Sheehy de-escalate the situation when he ran over and grabbed onto McGinnis.
Many were quick to call out the symbolic irony of the event. The current war on Iran, which the U.S. even admitted was at the behest of Israel at least somewhat, is massively unpopular. A veteran making that statement in the halls of the Senate and being seriously injured for it only underscores the administration’s blind commitment to waging war.
“Republicans claim to care about our troops, but the moment a veteran speaks out against Israel they treat him worse than they treat actual criminals,” a large conservative X account wrote.
“This is very, very ugly. And no US Senator needs to inject himself into this situation, for the safety of everyone—including himself,” Independent Veterans for America founder Paul Rieckhoff wrote. “Just unnecessary and terrible to watch. This is what an America falling apart looks like.”
Even the contemptible alt-right commentator Nick Fuentes chimed in.
“This is just a picture of America right now. Which you have a U.S. Marine—these are the people actually prosecuting the war, actually fighting the war … and they’re being sent out now into yet another ridiculous regime change war in the Middle East for Israel. And that’s what the guy says, he says ‘look, we don’t wanna die for Israel,” Fuentes said. “And look at the way that he’s being treated. Literally dragged out of the chamber by the cops, a U.S. Senator jumps into action … they smash his hand in the door. That’s the picture of America. That marine is all of us.”